Did you know that:
* Gerard Butler has a law degree?
* Edward Norton is a history graduate?
* Hugh Laurie studied anthropology?
* Jurassic Park author Michael Crichton studied medicine?
It is not just about artists, of course. Most of us find a university degree useful. Let’s face it, even if we don’t like our degree, a BA at least gives us a minor degree of security and gets our parents off our backs. My dad would feel more comfortable if I worked for a corporation rather than for myself. But he can’t fight with my rationalization:
“Dad, I studied Advertising and Business, I have work experience and my CV is pretty OK for a 25-year-old. There is not a better time to follow my dreams (which are about earning a full-time income as a writer ((writing whatever I want)). It is not just my dad who is surprised at my chosen path of career. Even though everybody knew I wrote all the time, they believed I would write in my free time while I got a nice office gig. Well, the idea didn’t sound half-bad until I actually went out and got an office job. I hated it and none of my friends has yet to find a job they enjoyed. They find freelancing scary and most see my educational background irrelevant. Right! Like a background in marketing would never helped a writer.
I just finished writing a series of articles for an online publication. Subject? Business tips. Stuff I learned 5 years ago. But obviously, not everyone wants to or needs to use their major. So as far as relevance go, I am not doing badly. My friends mostly have other stories though:
– I have a friend who graduated from civil engineering and is working for a record company. He also works as a DJ in his part-time. He couldn’t be happier.
– Another friend graduated from biology and although she would rather work in a lab or as an assistant teacher, she is making a decent income, has over a year of experience in sales and she just got a company car. I can’t say her biology training never comes in handy. It is just not used in the way she imagined it.
– Another friend is working as a TA but she miserable with the professor who just prevents any sort of personal or professional progress for her.
– Another civil engineer is working as one and hates his hours and would rather work 9 to 5 for a bank as a consultant for buildings. Yeah, that’s not exactly what he had in mind in college….
Frankly, I could on forever. Why we feel we need to or want to take different paths is a different issue. Maybe it is the subject for another article. But after I met an MBA student with a BA in sociology, I decided it was time to write this article.
How about you? Your friends? Is their work-related to their education? Are they happy or dissatisfied with this? What about the people you’ve recently met?
